February 2012

Wednesday, 29 February 2012

Trivia: Rodney Bingenheimer , in the 60s, was best known as the stand-in for Davy Jones of the Monkees.

Not much to add, other than what started out as simply a Beatles knock-off band, The Monkees have certainly stood on their own, and not on the shoulders of the giant. What people liked about The Monkees was that they weren't going to take themselves too seriously, and you felt like you could hang out with these guys.

There are numerous breaking news reporting on Davy Jones' death, but everyone seem to point to TMZ as the source. They also broke Michael Jackson's death, which, at the time, I had never heard of TMZ.

Davy Jones, the lead singer of beloved TV singing group The Monkees, died Wednesday at age 66, his rep confirms to Us Weekly. "He passed away in his home in Indiantown, Florida this morning, of a heart attack," the rep said in a statement. (TMZ first broke the story.)

The British 1960s pop idol passed away at Martin Memorial Hospital in Stuart, Florida, an official confirmed to the site. The circumstances of his death are not yet known.

Savoir Adore is another Brooklyn band. This one is about two BFF, Paul Hammer and Deidre Muro. They have a new single, Dreamers with the B-Side "Sea of Gold", out now. On the same EP, you'll also find "Dreamers" remixed by Golden Pony, which you can download for free via Brooklyn Vegan.

Gold Fields is a band out of Ballarat, Australia, their self-titled debut EP will be out March 13th via Astralwerks Records.

Never heard of these guys? Triple J has; putting their song "Treehouse" into their top 10. With only a year into their career and being on my favorite dancey label, Astralwerks, you should certainly keep an eye out for these guys.

Guitarist Vin Andanar had this to add about their debut EP, "From the beginning, we made it a big point to make every song sound different. We didn't want to be pigeonholed as part of any scene or specific sound."

Tuesday, 28 February 2012

The massive music+interactive+movies festival drew over 2,000 plus bands in the area. This year is supposed to be the "biggest yet".

I'm not in Austin this year for SXSW, but, per tradition, we are semi-covering it this year. Here are some SXSW announcements that were sent to me. Since I get over 100 emails a day, please put "SXSW" in your headline subject, otherwise your message will not be read or used for a future SXSW announcement.

Sounds delightful and tasty, check out Wunderbar – Finest Lunch With The Germans. Takes place on March 15th at the Parkside Restaurant from noon to 4pm. DJ sets from Apparat, Bonaparte, Coma, D E N A & Touchy Mob and food catered by Kochzeichen D

I love EMI Records, as do many of you. I was sent their SXSW sampler, which showcase some of their artists at SXSW. Not on the list is Norah Jones, who is actually not performing – but will be previewing new music from her forthcoming album, Little Broken Hearts, a collaboration with Danger Mouse (to be released May 1st, 2012). The two previously worked on his album, Rome, which Dave reviewed.

The playlist, which is not commercially available, includes hot Australian band, Gold Fields, in an upcoming Going for Gold.

Indie record label Krian Music Group (with BFM Digital) announced their SXSW 2012 showcase on Thursday, March 15. Bands on the lineup are: VHS or Beta, The Ettes, Capsula, Hands, The Strange Familiar, and Suckers.

Bombay Bicycle Club were all fellow classmates and formed when they were 15 years old, just two years ago. They were named after an Indian restaurant…

Bombay Bicycle Club stopped by 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis last night. They are currently selling out most of their tour dates, including 7th Street, but walking around the venue, it didn't feel like it was sold out. Perhaps it was the cold snow that put people off? I have to admit, it was just perfect because it wasn't so packed that you couldn't move around.

Lucy Rose

Lucy Rose (who also doubles as a Bombay Bicycle Club band member) and The Darcys (we previously mentioned) opened up the show.

Both Rose and Darcys had very brief sets, possibly no more than 30 minutes each. Rose was as small as she was as quiet. The audience listened to her every note, and she thanked us because she said had played enough shows where people were just talking straight through her set. She also noted how cold it was, but that was fine, she prefer to put on her "jumpers".

Best song on her set was "Middle of the Bed", from the EP of the same name. You can see here.

The Darcys

Toronto's The Darcys took their name from two Darcys: Mr. Darcy from "Pride and Prejudice" and D'Arcy McGee, the first Canadian political figure to be assassinated. Although they look to be a young bunch, they seem pretty confident and comfortable being on stage.

With the recent release of covers of Steely Dan's Aja album, which available as a free download from thedarcys.ca, it wasn't a surprise to see "Peg" on their set.

As for Bombay Bicycle Club, they are stronger and more popular than ever. It's hard to believe that I wrote about them five years ago, when they were just starting to get their names out.

They pretty much stuck to the set list (see photo). Some of the highlight of the show was when Rose stepped up to sing "Leave It" on center stage. Also, should have ended their show with sing-along classic "Always Like This" with people chanting "I'm not whole" (which may sound more like "I'm not home"!).

Encores were "Shuffle" and "What If".

There are only a dates that they haven't sold out (thanks to venue upgrades), so grab your tickets if you can. Bombay Bicycle Club's latest album is called A Different Kind of Fix, which was available as a download last August, but saw a physical CD release last month, January 17th, via A&M/Octone Records.

Kina Grannis is a Japanese/American singer/songwriter who won the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest in 2007. I mentioned her in February 2011.

Then, about three months ago, she had a massive viral hit music video for "In Your Arms", off her debut album, Stairwells, with over 5.5 million views as of this writing. If you haven't seen the video, get this: they used 288,000 jelly beans and took 22 months to put together. Talk about commitment.

On the strength of viral video, she's been after selling out dates (sounds familiar, Gotye?) in the UK and S/E Asia and Australia.

Kina Grannis returns to the US this April, below are her confirmed headlining tour dates:

Kitty Clementine is from Sally's town, Sydney, Australia. Her self-titled album is coming out March 6th, 2012, via Clumpty Records (New Power Media). You can download a preview track, "Blow That Horn", at Soundcloud .

Her biography said that she comes from Sydney's "warehouses and speakeasies" singing jazz ballads, baroque aria, and even screaming noise; all sounding very artsy and poetic… which is hard to place her music.

Saturday, 25 February 2012

Selections from the Essential Q Quiz Book: Name two members of Erasure.

Synthpop was big in my late teen and young adult years, which was about 15 to 20 years ago. Given that fashions and trends seem to make a comeback after about the same frame of time has passed, I see that today’s young generation is taking part in ‘80s nostalgia, and electronica and synthesizer genres are experiencing a resurgence. Sometimes I blink twice when I see teens wearing the same sorts of clothes that were popular when I was their age, but I smile a bit looking on the music scene and seeing names I recognize.

Vince Clarke is one of those names, and he’s been quite busy lately reprising many of his early musical collaborations. He was one of the founding members of Depeche Mode, and he recently teamed up with Martin Gore as VCMG, and the album Ssss is set to released next month. He also reunited with Alison Moyet as the duo Yazoo for a recent tour. And of course, he hasn’t stopped creating music with Andy Bell as Erasure. Tomorrow’s World is Erasure’s latest offering, released last October. The track “Fill Us With Fire” was released as a single last week, and Mute UK sent us a press release to help promote the album and the single.

I’m a big fan of music videos
as promotional tools; no surprise, I think, as I grew up when MTV started. Normally I take comments from YouTube users with a large grain of salt, yet I do think this top comment was worth a mention:

Erasure produced one of their best albums last year, and they got "this" aka 3rd hit music video from Mute? actually a lack of respect to the treasure they represent to the world pop music scene.

I think the frustration is understandable. I caught a good number of their music videos by way of Pop! The First 20 Hits DVD, which I watched with a couple of buddies back in high school. The videos were a mixed bag in my opinion; some were good and a few were lacking. Compared to their colleagues, and considering their success, yes, Erasure could use a better music video. I don’t expect something so rich and expensive as the Pet Shop Boys have done in the recent past, but I think it might be possible for Erasure to collaborate with someone like Anton Corbijn, who is very well noted for his involvement with U2 and especially Depeche Mode. Diehard fans collect videos just as much as albums, or at least that was my experience with the Depeche Mode mailing list in the mid to late 1990’s. I was connected to fans that had seemingly gargantuan, almost bottomless collections. One superfan, DJ Daniel “The Brat” Barassi, seemed to have everything and anything that was ever connected with DM, and was not long before he became the webmaster for DM’s official website. We were all envious of his treasure trove. Video media matters, and it very much matters to dedicated fans.

There is one last little goodie that Mute offered us to share with you:

Enjoy. I’m hoping we’ll hear from Mute again when Ssss from Vince Clarke and Martin Gore as VCMG is released.

Friday, 24 February 2012

Friend of weheartmusic, Mr Graeme Hamer, moseyed on down to Spectrum on Sydney's Oxford Street to check out Brisbane's Jungle Giants and those kinds from Perth who seem to be everywhere these days, San Cisco.

While both bands were certainly polite, there was no awkwardness to be found when The Jungle Giants and San Cisco joined forces again at Spectrum last Saturday as they continue their tour of Australia. Although the bands are youngsters, both in terms of age of their members and the age of the band hemselves, the quality of performances was such that it was unclear who was the supporting band (assuming you could have a support act that comes after the main act).

The Jungle Giants performed known and new material, with frontman Sam Hales and bassist Andrew Dooris making the most of the tiny space that is Spectrum. Dooris managed to be everywhere at once and still play his instrument, while Hales delivered lyrics with precision and feeling.

Next up was San Cisco. The unassuming (i.e. the shortest) lead singer, Jordi Davieson, definitely took the awards for courage and determination, his voice clearly not at its best due to a minor cold (or too much "living the dream"?). Davieson revealed to the audience that he was onto the solution though, brandishing a bottle of honey and also suggesting that Ron Burgundy's (of the film "Anchorman") choice of scotch on the rocks was going to help. Did we mention these guys have just left high school?

San Cisco showed themselves to be reliable and versatile. Singing duties were shared around, with some indulgence of voice distortion for specific songs. Davieson retired his guitar at one point to take up a keyboard. Continuing his accelerating progression in the life of a rocker, he somehow managed to float off stage for a brief crowd surfing session, avoiding entanglement in the equipment suspended from the low ceiling, and being returned in time to finish the current song.

A few new songs from San Cisco were thrown in for good measure. Davieson informed that the band has been recording them in Melbourne, violating the golden rule of not mentioning the 'other place' in a positive or a neutral tone. Well, they're young. Next time, we're sure we will hear things of Melbourne that will send Victoria's tourism department into a spin. Ha!

Davieson's voice held up through the show, with the huskiness only really obvious when he related stories to the audience. After giving a solid performance of "Rocket ship" (scroll down to listen), we were certain that that was the end of Davieson's voice, and perhaps the end of the night. However, with true showmanship, the band powered to the end, finishing up with "Awkward". Scarlett Stevens on drums, hidden for most of the night, sang her part as sweet as ever. Towards the end of the song, it was time for a remix with some spacey synth interludes.

An earlier invite by the Jungle Giants for San Cisco to join them for a song was repaid not once, but twice. Such overachievers! Lost voices, crowd surfing, versatility in instruments, and now multiple guest appearances. At this rate, soon enough there may be little be left to attempt.

Overall, the only negative that could be maintained is that both performances were not out long enough, but that's more to do with a limited catalogue than anything else. No doubt they're working on it. Stay classy San Cisco.

If you missed this tour, never fear. San Cisco are pretty much heading straight back out on the road, this time with fellow Perth, kids the Voltaire Twins. So get in quick if you missed out!

I guess they're still around because they just recently interviewed TypePad GM Jeff Reine from Say Media. Reine pointed out that Rdio recently imported their blog to Typepad (you can follow Rdio via Typepad, although it's not made clear it's a TP blog when you land on its front page).

I did give Rdio and MOG a try, and, the long and short of it, is that I wasn't willing to pay to listen to basically on-demand radio. With cellular data caps and hassle of downloading music offline, it just seems much easier to turn on the radio in my car and listen to random traditional terrestrial radio (for free!).

Also, you might start noticing the hideous advertisement on the right sidebar. I'm experimenting with it. As a web user, I'm trained to not pay attention to ads, but if it gets too intrusive, let me know.

GADGET LUST: PLAYSTATION VITA

Sure, I had gadget lust when I first heard about the Sony Vita. If I had the money, there's no question about it, I would love to get my hands on one. The fact is the cost of owning the Vita is just way too expensive.

CONS■ Battery life is not removable, only lasts 3 hours
■ "Too big" and "too thick" to fit in pants
■ Too expensive, games averages $40**
■ No video output (cannot put it on your HD TV)
■ Not UMD backward compatible
■ Requires a Vita Memory Card
■ Vita will only support a single user ID.

* Take that Xbox's "Gold" annual fee
** iPhone games averages $1

You have to ask yourself: Do I travel enough to warrant an exclusive gaming device?
It's a hard sell, and not only the pricing, but if I'm just hanging around the house, why wouldn't I just game on a bigger screen with a real console? Also, as far as I know, the Vita isn't a product for productivity – I would rather much prefer to bring an iPad (or laptop) instead.

The cons outweighs the pros in my case, I probably won't be getting a Vita anytime soon. Perhaps when a second or third generation comes along, we'll see.

Thursday, 23 February 2012

Sharks are from the UK, with a debut album, No Gods, coming out on March 20th, via Rise Records. Fans of punk indie rock should check out their new single, "Arcane Effigies", via youtube . The video shows some youth getting a haircut, eating chips, hanging out with mates, playing football (soccer); it's all very British.

Although a pretty young band (described as "barely old enough to drive"), Sharks already been featured in such magazines like KERRANG!, The Guardian, NME (of course!), and America's Alternative Press magazine (calling the band "Most Anticipated Music of 2012").

I actually saw Toadies a few years ago. The band recently announced some new EPs for 2012, the first one is called PLAY.ROCK.MUSIC. and will be out May 8th; also they'll be starting a tour with Social Distortion in April.

Do you know what's funny? Social D was one of the first bands I saw when I was living in Fresno, California. They were huge back then just coming off their big hit single "Bad Luck". It's good to see Toadies in good company.

I actually like the band name, Dinowalrus. It just sounds like a really big confused animal (who likes to wear a smoking jacket). Dinowalrus' new album is called Best Behavior and promises to be more "listenable" than their experimental and "cryptic" debut 2010 album %. From my understanding, the band is influenced by krautrock, post-punk, psychedelic rock, and house music.

I did preview the album somewhat, it's loud, but it does have a melody to it. There are definitely some "jam" moments in their songs. The best song on the new album is "RICO", which sounds like it belong in the 80s with all that synth and disco.

Look for Best Behavior, out on March 6th, 2012, via Old Flame Records. If you live in the UK, look for it on Heist or Hit Records.

This is actually a metal band from Phoenix, Arizona, but I couldn't help but place them here because The Sleeping Shaman called their music as "a mash up of punk, black metal, crazy treble picking, utterly abrasive and yet catchy." Plus, I thought it was funny, having them next to Toadies.

In case you were wondering "TOAD" actually is an acronym for "Take Over And Destroy".

Wednesday, 22 February 2012

The Australian Music Prize (The Amp) is now in its 7th year, The Amp has proved its worth both in Australia and internationally in helping to propel Australian bands to the world stage.

Last years winners Cloud Control have reaped the rewards, relocating to music hotspot London and signing to independent label Infectious. Their album ‘Bliss Release’ debuted at #16 on the Independent charts in the UK and received a raft of critical acclaim. Cloud Control went on to tour the UK and Europe with the likes of The Arcade Fire, Temper Trap and more, as well as being asked to play Reading & Leeds Festivals, Latitude and Lowlands.

This year, you can be in the room as the winner is crowned from this year’s top shortlist of the nine artists Abbe May, Adalita, Boy & Bear, Gotye, Gurrumul, Jack Ladder, Kimbra, The Jezabels and The Middle East.

Limited tickets are available to the public for standing room tickets only for $39 inclusive of wine, beer and water. The event runs from 12 noon. Please register your interest at info@australianmusicprize.com.au. First in best dressed as tickets are limited.